


A Harvest of Memories

by waywarddwitch



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Flour fight, Fluff, M/M, apple picking, eiji wants to show ash the joys of apple picking, its really just my excuse to write cute stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 09:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16910319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywarddwitch/pseuds/waywarddwitch
Summary: Eiji wants to take Ash to an orchard and show him what apple picking is all about. It's just his excuse to make more memories with him. And honestly, it works out better than he plans.





	A Harvest of Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ! I'm Ri and this is my first time writing a fic in like years?? I know what you're thinking though. Apple-picking in December? I just thought it'd be hella cute. It's unedited btw. So any spelling mistakes are my own!

The soft crunch of leaves under his boots and the howling wind in his ear, Eiji understood it as apple-picking season. He knew fairly well that Ash didn’t have the luxury of doing something so mundane in his childhood. The thought of doing it in his adulthood and especially with with Ash, excited Eiji in the best, childish way possible. Except, Ash didn’t really know yet. He up in the apartment, clicking and typing away at his computer. Eiji had just gone for a small walk to enjoy the falling leaves and fresh fall air. But now was about the time to bring it up. 

Scaling up to their posh apartment, Eiji could easily see Ash was in complete focus. Though, sometimes, it was good to break that focus or he got way too uptight. 

Eiji sauntered over to the blonde, a sneaking smile plastered on his lips. “Hey Ash,” he started, taking a gaze at the computer. It was a bunch of files and codes he couldn’t begin to understand. “How would you feel about leaving the apartment and going apple-picking?”

Ash swiveled his chair around and took his glasses off, setting them on his desk. “Apple-picking? And what’re we gonna do with all the apples we get?” 

“Don’t worry! There’s tons of apple recipes on the internet. Candied apples, apple pie, apple crisp! I don’t think we’ll really need too many. I just thought it’d be nice for you to go, since you’ve never been before, probably.” 

A smile crept onto the blonde’s lips. “Sure, let’s go, Eiji. We’ll get so many apples I’ll never want to see one again. Besides,” he paused, groaning and cracking his back against his office chair. “It’s about time I leave this room anyway. The fresh air’ll do us good.” 

The two boys packed water bottles and lunch that Eiji made (unfortunate for Ash) into the truck. Of course, Ash would be driving and Eiji planned to nap the entire way to the farm. Eiji didn’t tell Ash that it was also a pumpkin-picking farm. But thankfully, the pumpkin patch was on the other side of the farm. Ash wouldn’t even have to go near it, even if it was slightly in view. 

Ash pulled out of their parking spot, clearing his throat. “Are you looking forward to this?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “ My family and I haven’t done anything like this since I was a middle schooler. I started getting busy with entrance exams and we all didn’t have time to be together as a family,” he explained with a little shrug. “So, being able to do this with you is admittedly a little selfish.” 

Staring straight ahead with a neutral expression, Ash replied after a moment. “Than it’s selfish on my part too.” 

The ride was quiet for the most part. Eiji didn’t sleep. He wanted to see the leaves change and become so much brighter as they got farther away from the city. The bright oranges, yellows, adn reds were such a beautiful sight. He couldn’t help snapping a few photos on his camera. 

Upstate New York was so much quieter than the city. They were about two hours away from their busy little apartment, and the contrast was vast. Eiji loved it. It sort of reminded him of home. His hometown of Izumo isn’t all that populated compared to other cities in Japan. This feels closer to home than anything. 

The two boys climb out of the car and grab their water bottles. “You think we can leave the picnic basket in here for later?” Eiji found himself asking. 

Ash hesitated. “Take it just in case. Hand it over to me and I’ll carry it.” 

Eiji climbed into the back of the truck and grabbed the picnic basket. He slid out and handed the package to the blonde. It’s not that it was heavy of anything. Ash just had to carry the bask on his arm their entire trip. He knew Ash wouldn’t let him carry it, as if taking it in shifts. That’s just how Ash was. 

“Don’t make that face, big bro. I just have to get something and we’ll leave.” Ash leaned into the passenger’s seat and opened the glove box compartment. He retrieved what looked like a pistol and slipped it in his boot. Of course, Ash Lynx without a gun would be like Batman without Robin. It’s rare to see hims unarmed. 

“Alright, we can go.” 

They headed over to the orchard. The line wasn’t too long to get in, probably because it was a chilly, windy day. They were both dressed for it and even if Eiji wasn’, he stuck close to Ash, his body radiating heat. The japanese boy felt toasty, even though the wind cut through his jacket. He probably felt warm inside, safe standing next to Ash.  
“So, how does apple-picking work?” Ash decide to ask. Eiji couldn’t tell if his rosy cheeks were from the cold or from embarrassment of not knowing how apple-picking worked. Either way, Eiji subconsciously thought he looked pretty cute. 

“We grab a basket like so,” Eiji said, picking up a little basket. “We won’t need anything bigger for what we want. And then we pick some off the trees.” He pointed over to the orchard full of multicolored apples on different trees. “We’ll pick any and all apples we want. It’s as simple as that!” 

Ash gazed towards the grove of colorful trees. Eiji couldn’t tell what was on his mind, but he loosely grabbed his wrist and headed towards the grove. “If we’re picking any of ‘em, this doesn’t seem too interesting,” he commented. “But I’ll give it a try.” 

“Oh! Certain apples are good for certain things. I’ll show you.” Eiji read the signs that indicated which apples were located where. He then plucked a pretty green one off of the tree. “Granny Smith apples are good for pies! I’m not really all that good at baking, but we can try together! The grocery store downstairs from the apartment certainly has all of the ingredients.” 

Ash gently took the apple from Eiji’s hand. “How many of these do we need to make a pie?” 

Eiji tapped his chin. “I think eight? So, we can start grabbing!”

The boys grabbed more apples from the tree and went to the next row, gala apples. “We can make a few candied apples Max and Ibe-San!” Eiji grabbed a couple. “I don’t really know if they’ll come out right but it’s worth a try. Maybe you’ll have better luck following a recipe than me. And if Max is around, maybe he can give us a hand,” the older boy babbled. “Is that something you’d like, Ash?” 

Ash, who was over in the next section where braeburn apples were, shrugged. “It’s like, doing something as a family. I never had much of that,” he confessed. “I’m sure Max’ll be ecstatic.” He laughed a little. “It’ll be nice for a change.” 

Eiji smiled, his cheeks hurting. “Making all this stuff is going to take forever! When we get back, I’m going to buy all of the ingredients from the supermarket! You think we have enough apples?” 

Ash dropped a few braeburn apples into the basket. “I think we’re going to be sick of apples for the next year, Eiji.” He huffed. “So, yes, we have plenty.” 

Eiji chuckled. “We can go pay than! It goes by weight, I think.” The two boys lugged their basket to be weighed and Ash paid for them. They stuck them in the back of the truck and climbed in. 

“We didn’t stay for as long as I initially thought. I’m kind of glad since there was a pumpkin patch on the other side of the farm,” Eiji stated. 

“You took me to a place with a pumpkin patch?!” 

“You weren’t paying attention anyway! We got our apples and you didn’t see it! We can go home and forget about it.” He huffed and clicked his seatbelt into place. “I just want to make pie and baked apples with you. Let’s not argue now.” 

“Fine, But I’m not forgetting about this betrayal,” he said, half joking and half not. 

Ash had to remember how to get back to the apartment. He got a little lost, so Eiji decided to take a small nap. The cold wore him out. Once he woke up, he heard Ash’s voice. The truck wasn’t moving and his body felt heavier. Once he woke up more, and adjusted to his surroundings, he realized Ash covered him with his coat. He felt so warm inside, his heart full. Ash was so kind. 

“We’re home, Eiji,” Ash said, opening the driver’s side door. “I’ll carry all the stuff inside. You work on waking up a little more. Don’t need you falling and hurting yourself.”

The smaller Japanese boy nodded, rubbing his eyes. He must’ve slept well. His legs felt like jelly and even though he felt awake enough, he didn’t want to get up. 

“I’ll be out in a minute, Ash. I just need to get used to being awake.” He stretched his legs, listening to the sound of his bones crackling. He must’ve slept a majority of the ride in the car. He felt really stiff. He needed to get out though. He had to pick up pie ingredients. 

Eiji shimmied out of the car, stretching a little more. He figured Ash didn’t go far, the boy normally doesn’t leave his side. Eiji grinned at him. “How about you drop the apples and picnic basket upstairs? I know you hate going to the supermarket with me. I can get everything myself. I’ll only be ten minutes, tops.” 

Ash wavered for a moment, then helping Eiji tame his bedhead. “Fine, but if you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming down.” 

“Deal! I’ll be quick though. I know where everything is.”

Eiji and Ash went their separate ways at the elevator. Eiji stayed at the bottom floor and visited the scarce supermarket. The sun had already gone down and it was about supper time. It was the perfect time for the older boy to fetch the baking supplies he needed. 

He grabbed a pan, some butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. The rest the boys had at home. Eiji was more than quick with his quest. Five minutes and he gathered all of his items. He waited in line to check out. 

Items bagged and in hand, Eiji headed back to the apartment. “Ash, I’m home! I have all of the ingredients.” He dropped the bags on the table and began taking them out. He reached for the missing ingredients as well. “Do you think Max and Ibe-San are available to help? The recipe calls for pie crust that’s done from scratch and I’m not exactly a good cook.” 

Ash, who was leaning against the counter, shrugged. “I don’t know why we’d have to call them,” he said plainly. “Baking’s all about measuring, separating wet and dry ingredients at the start. I’m sure if we follow the recipe carefully, we can make it.” 

Eiji nodded and asked Ash to pull up a simple apple pie recipe on his phone. Ash scanned the text, determination washing over his features. “It’s easy. We can do this. It’s just a bit of prep time and a long bake time.”

Eiji rolled his sleeves up. “Let’s let the butter soften up a bit and we can get this show on the road.” 

______________________________________________________________________

The two boys were covered in flour one the pie was cooling on top of the stove. Eiji was exhausted. Ash said it’d be easy, but they had to redo the dough twice. The older boy put in too much cinnamon on accident. And the second time, Ash threw in too much flour when they decided it’d be fun to throw it at each other. But now, the pie is done and they decided to save the baked apples for another day. 

Eiji dusted flour out of his hair before huffing. “I can’t believe you threw some all in my hair. I need a bath so bad now.” 

“All’s fair in love and war,” Ash replied, a smug grin on his face. “You started it, getting flour all over my sweater, thought you were cute.” 

The Japanese boy puffed his cheeks. “Doesn’t mean you get it stuck in my hair!”

“It’ll come out, don’t be a baby,” he said, chuckling. “I know you’re tired, but take a bath and you can go to bed.” He yawned, clasping his hands behind his head. “We both need it after today.”

Eiji nodded, feeling the powdery substance all over his clothes and hair. He decided to grab pajamas and start a bath. That’s what he needed ideally. He got all of the powder out of his hair, and the exhaustion became more prominent. Today wore him out, but in a good way. It was everything he wanted. He introduced Ash to apple-picking and had a day of non-stop fun with him. Sure, he might’ve acted a little mad about the flour in his hair. But he had fun, and he loved it. 

Climbing out of the bath and drying off, Eiji slipped on cute plaid pajamas. Upon exiting the bathroom, he noticed that head of blonde hair was missing from their sofa. The closer he got, he noticed Ash had fallen asleep. His shallow breaths and content expression made Eiji’s heart swell with love and happiness. He was quite tuckered out and his sleeping face showed that. 

Eiji climbed next to him as gently and quietly as possible. He laid his head on Ash’s chest, listening to his shallow heartbeat. He was already struggling to stay awake, but the sound of Ash’s beating heart, it always put him at ease. It made falling asleep now, so much easier. 

The day they had, the time they spent together, it was just more memories they’d made together. And as Eiji fell asleep on the chest of the man he loved, he couldn’t help but smile. These are the times he lived for amongst all the violence and bloodshed. These are the times he’d remember.

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it ! I'm really proud of this one so thanks for reading!   
> -Ri


End file.
